If England's semi-final with Croatia goes to penalties, going second might be the best bet for skipper Harry Kane.

"We should have finished the job before penalties, but maybe it's written in the stars that we have to go through the extra drama", said Luka Modric, whose penalty bounced off Subasic's hand and the post before entering the other side of the net.

"Our last three games were different because we played teams with a defensive approach", he said.

Despite his off-field troubles, Modric been an admirable leader for his team on the field, allowing them to match the great side of 1998 that reached the last four in France.

There is little prospect that they would have come this far without Modric, who as a boy was forced to flee his village home after his grandfather was killed by Serb forces in the Croatian independence war.

When he recovered late in the season, Winks was not the same player and England were right to leave him at home due to lack of match fitness and sharpness.

However, with five minutes of extra time left, Russia's defender Mario Fernandes equalized for the hosts, taking the game to penalties.

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez sees his much-vaunted golden generation on the verge of greatness after showing resilience in coming from two goals down to beat Japan, and tactical awareness in putting Brazil to the sword.